On the eve of the United States midterm elections, President Donald Trump executed a final campaign push for Republican candidates through a series of virtual rallies across eight states. Departing from some of his usual presentation elements, such as the "God made Trump" video or polling analysis by CNN's Harry Enten, the President maintained a consistent message delivered at dozens of in-person events: voters should act as if his name is on the ballot.
Trump began his day with phone banking efforts for candidates in North Carolina before participating in virtual events in New York, South Carolina, Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, and Texas, where he appeared twice. The calls largely followed a condensed version of his standard in-person rally script. During these addresses, he insisted that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon, declared that his own name is on the line in this election, and stated that America is in its golden age which Democrats cannot be allowed to destroy.
Despite campaigning for other Republicans, much of the focus remained on Trump himself. In South Carolina, he told Senate candidate Darline Graham, "At least you like me, but I think you love me." Meanwhile, in Alaska, he attacked Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola following a report alleging her campaign helped recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan to run against Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan.
The decision to rely on virtual rallies the day before the election, after holding nearly 30 in-person events in predominantly Republican states, surprised some observers. Plans for physical rallies in Iowa and Kansas over the weekend had initially been canceled last week in favor of virtual events. However, the backlash from those cancellations apparently bothered Trump enough that the in-person events were reinstated. Last week, the President stated that the virtual format works for him because people want to hear him speak.
Sources: CNN Brasil.